Project information

Migration Services at The Connection 2018-19

Homeless migrants have limited access to support services and are vulnerable to exploitation and street homelessness. By funding a Migrant Coordinator and Advisor, we will provide specialist migrant support to prevent devastating limbo-situations, like those of the Windrush generation.

Charity information: The Connection at St Martin's - helping homeless people in London

Need

46% of London’s rough sleepers are non-UK nationals. Despite this, there are limited resources and understanding to support this group. The complexity of a person’s immigration status and the length of time it can take to address this with the Home Office can leave people in limbo for months, even years. Upcoming restrictions on the rights of EEA nationals post-Brexit, are also likely to affect homeless, making them vulnerable to prostitution, trafficking and other forms of exploitation.

Solution

Responding to increasing and complex needs of homeless migrants, we have developed a specialist service delivered by a Migrant Advisor and a Migrant Coordinator. They know who to contact, what to say and have the legal expertise and qualifications needed to provide specialist help, information and advice. The team will ensure that our migrant clients receive the advice and support they so urgently need to move away from homelessness and avoid exploitation.

Aim 1

To provide specialist advice and support to Migrants

Activities

» Provide in-depth immigration advice and/or secure legal representation for asylum or human rights cases » Assist people to obtain ID and prove their right to access employment and housing » Ensure victims of trafficking get appropriate support and report abuses to the police » Refer and liaise with specialist organisations such as mental health or women and Domestic Violence support services

What success will look like

Up to 80 more rough sleeping or vulnerably housed migrants will have access to legal advice and representation as well as being signposted to other organisations

Aim 2

To support migrants into accommodation

Activities

» Refer people into our emergency Night Centre » Refer and support people into specialist accommodation schemes

What success will look like

Over the year, 80 more migrants will be housed either in the emergency Night Centre or helped into specialist accommodation

Aim 3

To provide migrants with services to facilitate engagement and recovery

Activities

» Access to vital healthcare, food, showers and a free laundry service » Access to a Groups and activities programme as well as volunteering opportunities » Specialist legal support and benefits advice » People with the right to work, benefiting from job search, careers guidance, CV & interview workshops and help with appropriate clothing/travel

What success will look like

Up to 80 more migrants will start to rebuild their lives through groups and activities offered at the centre as well as having the opportunity to get back into employment

Aim 4

To increase staff and clients’ knowledge of migrants’ rights and the law

Activities

What success will look like

Staff will become more knowledgeable on migrants rights and our resources will be available in multiple languages to reflect the diversity of our client group

Aim 5

To increase capacity to support this group as well as awareness of their needs

Activities

» Develop partnerships with other services » Train other organisations on how to support homeless migrants » Recruit and supervise volunteers to support case work and language needs » Involve migrant clients in developing services through regular focus groups

What success will look like

Local businesses and our partners will have more specialist knowledge on migrants rights and will have the ability to assist more people

Impact

The Big Give Funding is vital in helping migrants lead a secure and fulfilled life away from the streets. It will provide the foundation to our ambitious plans to grow our support to this client group over the next five years. We would like to double our capacity to deal with complex cases and grow the specialist team from two staff members to five. This will ensure we keep up with the demand of people needing our help.

Risk

A number of our migrant clients have complex needs. This can sometimes make progress slow and there are set backs. Our service staff have highly specialised training and are patient and understanding working with each person on an individual basis ensuring their needs are met.

Reporting

Funders of this project will receive bi-annual updates from us and be invited in to visit our centre, and to meet some of their beneficiaries.

Location

Beneficiaries

Why Us?

The Connection at St Martin's has a history of helping homeless people stretching back almost 100 years. We are the UK's largest specialist organisation working with rough sleepers and have a proven track record of successfully helping people to turn their lives around and leave behind self-destructive street lifestyles. We have a user-led philosophy, and homeless people are consulted at all levels - this project being a prime example.